Associated Press, June 29, 2002
Somalian Government Seeks U.N. Force
BYLINE: OSMAN HASSAN; Associated Press Writer
Somalia's transitional government on Saturday formally called for the U.N. Security Council to send an armed force to the Horn of Africa nation.
In a letter to the United Nations, Prime Minister Hassan Abshir Farah said a strong central government would be impossible to establish without the help of an international force to disarm the country's warring factions. Farah told a news conference that the massive amount of weapons prevents a stable government in Somalia, and destabilizes neighboring countries by being a source for illegal small arms.
The government also accused neighboring countries of interfering in Somalia's internal affairs.
Farah's request comes just weeks before the second anniversary of his transitional government, established by clan elders and businessmen.
But the government has failed to include powerful faction leaders who have private militias, so the government controls only a small portion of the country.
Somalia has had no effective central government since opposition leaders ousted dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and the country turned into a patchwork of battling warlords ruled by heavily armed militias.
XINHUA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE, June 29, 2002
UN Urged to Send Peacekeeping Forces to Somalia
The transitional national government of Somalia on Saturday urged the United Nations to send international troops to the country to disarm Somalis and make peace eventually.
In a press conference held here Saturday afternoon, Prime Minister Hassan Abshir Farah said the weapons are not troubling Somalia only, but the entire region as well especially the neighboring countries.
It is known that Somalia has fallen apart after the downfall of the late regime 12 years ago. As a result, armed clans and clan-based administrations armed to the teeth governed the country into pockets of land, leaving most of the country chaotic and anarchy. This is the first time that the fledging government of Somalia makes such a strong decision in asking for international disarmament troops to intervene into the situation of Somalia.
In a communique issued after an extraordinary meeting by the council of ministers of the transitional government in Mogadishu, Farah also said Somalia is now in desperate need of emergency financial assistance, so that reconstruction of the country would become possible.
Meanwhile, the ministers also appealed the international community to put pressure on those countries continually interfering into the internal affairs of Somalia, so that they would respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.
The ministers did not point their fingers at any particular country for this matter, but it is widely known that they meant Ethiopia which has been continuously accused of supporting some of the factions opposing to the government by providing them weapons ever since the government was formulated in neighboring Djibouti almost two years ago.
Among the decisions taken Saturday by the ministers also included another appeal to the United States, the European Union and the Arab League to become part of those mediating the crises in Somalia.
These decisions were made after the council of ministers made a study over the current socio-political, economical and security situation of Somalia, Farah said.
Toronto Star, June 29, 2002
What about Somalia?
Re African leaders hope for support, June 27.
The G-8 Summit debates its Africa plan. It talks of conflict resolution and an improved and revamped African peacekeeping force in concert with the West. What disheartens and irks me most is that British Prime Minister Tony Blair mentions the conflicts in the Republic of Congo and Sudan and conveniently forgets to remember Africa's most troubled state, which happens to be Somalia. Somalia is the only country in Africa that has been consumed by anarchy for more than a decade. Are Somalis not part of the global family? Do we not have elderly, mothers and innocent children who deserve foreign aid and support?
Why are these multiple and discriminatory standards being applied to the rest of the continent and Somalia repetitively? I take it the U.S. is still not pleased about its decade-old Somalia experience and the G-8 is marching to its tune. For how long will mankind wear these blinkers?
The G-8 is talking about providing economic stability, education and health care for peoples with relatively stable governments. What about a people experiencing total chaos?
Rasheed Abdi, Toronto, African Aid
Los Angeles Times. June 28, 2002
SOMALIA; Militia Clash Kills 23 Day After Peace Deal
BYLINE: From Times Wire Reports
Rival militias fought a fierce battle over the deaths of fellow clansmen in central Somalia, leaving 23 people dead and 40 wounded just one day after peace was brokered, officials and witnesses said.
Using heavy weapons mounted on 10 pickup trucks, more than 300 militiamen from the Saad and Dir clans fought Wednesday in the Golol Valley, 435 miles northeast of Mogadishu, the capital, residents who fled said.
The fighting followed a peace deal reached between the clans for control of Gellinsor village, 170 miles northwest of Mogadishu.
XINHUA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE June 28, 2002
Boat Accident Kills Six Somalians in Turkey
DATELINE: ANKARA, June 28
A Turkish boat carrying illegal foreign immigrants sank in the Aegean Sea, leaving six dead and another six missing, reported the Anatolian News Agency on Friday. The accident took place when the boat set sail from Bodrum township of the western Mugla province to Greek island of Kos on Thursday night, said Bodrum head official Cumhur Guven Tasbasi. The boat sank off Datca township believably due to tough weather conditions.
There were one Turkish captain and 17 Somalians on the boat. Six dead bodies, including a child's, were found and six missing, while six others were rescued by a charter tourist boat.
Efforts are under way to find the six missing people.
The Evening Post (Wellington) June 26, 2002
Camel and crocodile off Somali menus
BYLINE: GROSER Chloe
SOMALI families living in Wellington may be hard-pressed to enjoy some of their favourite dishes. Many staple foods are not available in New Zealand or are considered a delicacy - and priced accordingly. Camel meat and milk are off the menu, as is crocodile. Other favourites like sweet mango, goat meat and lobster can be bought here, although they're likely to be reserved for special occasions.
But many dishes can be cooked to suit the eclectic Arab and African style of Somali cuisine.
Sambusa (fried pastries filled with beef), anjero (spongy flat bread) and many rice and meat dishes using hot curry and garlic flavours dominate the Somali dinner table in Wellington.
SUQAAR (Lamb curry)
500g lean lamb cut into small chunks
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon curry powder
2 onions
Cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon chilli powder
3 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
Heat the oil in a pan and gently fry the diced onions and the curry powder, until onions are transparent.
Add the meat, the chopped garlic, black pepper and chilli powder. Cook on a medium heat until the lamb is tender. Serve on basmati rice favoured with coconut milk, sultanas, cooked garlic and onions.
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CAPTION: OUT OF AFRICA - Lamb curry served with flavoured rice. Picture: ROSS GIBLIN
BBC Monitoring International Reports June 29, 2002
SOMALIA: PUNTLAND LEADER YUSUF INVITES ANTI-GOVERNMENT MILITIA COMMANDER
Muhammad Sa'id Hirsi Morgan who is currently based in Baydhabo southcentral Somalia is expected to travel to Boosaaso town in Puntland administration.
According to reliable sources Mr Morgan's visit follows an invitation he received from Col Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad Puntland leader . Mr Morgan's visit is reportedly connected to how he could get more militiamen of about 300 men who would join his other forces at Bula Barako in Bay Region
Mr Morgan, who has for several months been based between Baydhabo and Bu'aale, is expected to take part in the recently formed administration of Southwest Statelet of Somalia, headed by Col Muhammad Nur Shatigadud
Source: Radio Banaadir, Mogadishu, in Somali 1700 gmt 28 Jun 02 /) BBC Monitoring
BBC Monitoring International Reports June 29, 2002
UK AMBASSADOR TO ETHIOPIA APPLAUDS SOMALILAND NEW LEADERSHIP
The British ambassador to Ethiopia has disclosed that following the death of the late Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal former Somaliland leader things of good signs have been realized in Somalia's northern regions.
The ambassador said that the international community will now be focusing on what is going on in the regions as well as how the administration of the self-declared Republic of Somaliland will be operating.
The UK ambassador and a delegation he led recently held talks with, among others, the president of the Somaliland administration, Dahir Riyale Kahin, and other top officials from the Somaliland's parliament and House of Elders.
Source: Radio HornAfrik, Mogadishu, in Somali 0530 gmt 29 Jun 02 /) BBC Monitoring
BC Monitoring International Reports June 29, 2002
SOMALIA: OPPOSITION SAID DIVIDED OVER GOVERNMENT DELEGATION TO BURIAL CEREMONY
The minister of local government, Hon Muhammad Nur Jiley, one of the interim government ministers, who hails from Bay and Bakool Region southcentral Somalia , has disclosed that the Ethiopian government is responsible for the failure of the interim government's delegation to attend the burial of the late Abdiqadir Muhammad Adan Zoppe a prominent Rahanwein politician in Baydhabo. Mr Zoppe died recently in Rome, Italy. Speaking to IQK Somali acronym Holy Koran Radio , Mr Jiley said Ethiopian interference could not be ruled out as the Rahanwein Resistance Army RRA is divided over the visiting delegation.
It was expected that Speaker of parliament Dr Abdallah Derow Isaq and his delegation would travel to Baydhabo to participate in the burial ceremony. However, the RRA top cadres are divided into two groups over the matter, said Mr Jiley, adding that in order to calm the situation, the delegation has been forced by circumstance to stay back and continue mourning while in Mogadishu. ...
Source: Holy Koran Radio, Mogadishu, in Somali 1700 gmt 28 Jun 02 /) BBC Monitoring
Gulf News, June 29, 2002
FIVE ARAB STATES ON UN LIST OF LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
BYLINE: Aftab Kazmi
Five nations from the Arab world are on the UN's list of least developed countries' where millions of people live below the poverty line.
These countries - Djibouti, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen - are inhabited by 59.3 million people, a major part of whom earn less than $ 1 a day, according to a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report released here recently.
UNCTAD has posted 49 countries on its 'Least Developed Countries Report 2002'. The UN selection criteria for the list of the least developed countries is low national income, weak human assets, and high economic vulnerability.
According to the report, Djibouti has a population of 600,000 of which 56 per cent live on less than $ 1 a day.
The infant mortality rate is 117 per 1,000 live births and the average life expectancy at birth is just 46.
In Mauritania, 31 per cent of a population of 2.6 million earn $ 1 a day.
The infant mortality rate is 106 per 1,000 live births, while the average life expectancy is 51.
Somalia has a population of 9.7 million, 72 per cent of whom live on less than $ 1 a day. The child mortality rate is 122 per 1,000 live births. The average life expectancy is 47.
Sudan has the largest population of 28.9 million among this group of five nations. However, some 23 per cent of the country's population lives on less than $ 1 a day. According to the UNCTAD's selected economic and social indicators, the child mortality rate is 86 per 1,000 live births, while the average life expectancy is 55.
Yemen, the most populated country in the Arabian Peninsula, is inhabited by 17.5 million people, many of whom live in poverty. The UNCTAD, however, did not mention these figures.
Yemen, which was given partial membership in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) at the Muscat Summit 2001, has a child mortality rate of 74 per 1,000 live births and an average life expectancy of 59.
The UNCTAD report says that extreme poverty is a pervasive and persistent phenomenon in all the least developed countries.
It proposes an alternative approach to improve the design of poverty reduction strategies in which the central task is to double average household living standards through building productive capacities and generating livelihoods.
The governments of the developing and the 49 LDCs, the report says, are preparing and implementing Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) as a condition for aid and debt relief.
The PRSP is the centrepiece of the approach to international development cooperation for low-income countries introduced in the late 1990s by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the report added.
The emerging PRSPs still give priority to short-term stabilisation over long-term development, with tight credit ceilings and restrictive fiscal policies.
"The overall approach is still not the best way to combat poverty in the LDCs," said the report.
To realise the full potential of the PRSP approach will require fewer but more flexible conditionalities, greater open-mindedness on the part of international financial institutions to alternative poverty reduction strategies with donors firmly aligned behind those strategies, and more technical assistance to familiarise LDCs with their rights and obligations under the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the report said.
BBC Monitoring International Reports, June 28, 2002
ETHIOPIAN FORCES REPORTEDLY REDEPLOY IN VARIOUS PARTS OF SOUTHERN SOMALIA
Reports reaching us from Qurac, Jome and Ceel Berde districts southwest Somalia say military units belonging to the Ethiopian government have set up bases in some parts of Hiiraan central Somalia and Bakool southcentral Somalia regions recently.
The Ethiopian forces which were previously based in Qurac, Jome and Ceel Berde districts had left the region recently following rumours that NATO forces would conduct surveillance of Somalia's air space. The forces returned to the region at the beginning of this week.
Reports further say the Ethiopian forces have started conducting military manoeuvres in the region.
Unconfirmed reports say the Ethiopian forces returned to the region out of suspicion that Ethiopian opposition groups based in Somalia would infiltrate the country through these Somali regions.
Source: Xog-Ogaal web site, Mogadishu, in Somali 27 Jun 02 /) BBC Monitoring
BBC Monitoring International Reports, June 28, 2002
KENYA: TOWN RESIDENTS BLOCK TRANSFER OF SOMALI REFUGEES CITING EMPLOYMENT BIAS
Repatriation of 12,000 ethnic Bantu Somali refugees from Dadaab to Kakuma northwestern Kenya camp aborted when residents of Garissa violently sabotaged the exercise.
The exercise stalled shortly after hundreds of residents stormed Dadaab Refugee Camp and pelted International Organization for Migration (IOM) officials with stones sending them scampering for their lives. Scores of people were injured and taken to Dadaab Dispensary and Medicines Sans Frontieres Hospital respectively.
Windscreens of several vehicles involved in the exercise were smashed and property worth thousands of shillings destroyed when police engaged residents in running battles. Police lobbed tear gas canisters into the rowdy mob as the ensuing chaos ground operations at Dadaab town to a halt. The residents had mounted barricades on major outlets from the camps to ensure the exercise failed since locals were not recruited as registration clerks.
Police confirmed that trouble started when 22 youths who were protesting against the recruitment policy were arrested prompting a public outcry that led to the riots. Residents were enraged on learning that no local was absorbed in the exercise in which more than 200 foreigners from other African countries were reportedly recruited.
Garissa District Commissioner Aloyse Lentoimaga said 29 people were arrested following the chaos and that the matter was being sorted out at a district security meeting.
Lagdera KANU Kenya African National Union, ruling party chairman Osman Ibrahim demanded the unconditional release of 35 residents who were arrested.
Source: East African Standard web site, Nairobi, in English 28 Jun 02 /) BBC Monitoring
BBC Monitoring International Reports, June 28, 2002
SOMALIA: TENSION SAID RISING IN BAYDHABO AFTER PROCLAMATION OF SOUTHWEST STATE
Nairobi, 27 June: Tension is rising in the town of Baydhabo Baidoa , 240 km northwest of Mogadishu, due to a deepening split within the senior ranks of the Rahanwein Resistance Army (RRA), which controls much of the Bay and Bakol regions of southwestern Somalia, according to local sources in Baydhabo, capital of Bay Region and headquarters of the RRA.
The tension follows a split brought about by differences between the RRA chairman, Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud, and his two deputies, Shaykh Adan Madobe and Muhammad Ibrahim Habsade, they said.
The problem affecting the RRA arose over demands by the deputies that the RRA chairman, Shatigadud, who had earlier announced the establishment of the self-declared Southwest State of Somalia, "should either dismantle the Southwest State and remain chairman of the RRA or relinquish the RRA chairmanship", according to a source involved in mediation efforts between the two sides.
"The deputies are arguing that inasmuch as the RRA chairman, Shatigadud, is now president of the self-declared Southwest State of Somalia, Shaykh Aden, the first vice-chairman, should become chairman of the RRA," the source told IRIN on Thursday 27 June . A 36-member mediation committee, comprising traditional elders, members of the RRA executive committee, and religious and business leaders, had so far failed to resolve the political impasse in Baydhabo, he said.
The committee is reported to have sought the assurance of Shatigadud and his deputies that they would abide by any decision reached by the committee.
"All involved had, as of Wednesday, given an undertaking to accept the ruling of the mediation committee," the source told IRIN on Thursday.
Contacted by IRIN, Shaykh Adan admitted the existence of the problem but downplayed its seriousness. "Differences exist, and in any given organization there are bound to be differences of opinion and minor disagreements, but we are working on them, and I am hopeful that we will resolve them soon," he said.
However, a business source in Baidoa told IRIN that the mediation committee "was no closer to a resolution of the problem" than it was when it first convened a week ago. He said Shaykh Adan and Habsade were resolutely adhering to their demand that Shatigadud renounce the Southwest State, and that the RRA remain the sole authority in Bay and Bakol, while Shatigadud was rejecting this with equal resolve.
At the heart of the matter lay a feeling on the part of Shaykh Adan and Habsade that they had been sidelined by the formation of the Southwest State, this source stated.
"As RRA deputies they were political heavyweights in this area but, with the Southwest State, the best they can hope for is a cabinet post. This is the real problem and until the committee and Shatigadud address it, I am afraid there will be no solution," he said.
The establishment of the Southwest State, with Shatigadud as president - the third regional administration to be set up in Somalia, following the establishment of Somaliland (northwestern Somalia) and Puntland (in the northeast) - was announced in April by the RRA leadership. The decision was reached at a meeting of the RRA Central Committee and over 70 elders from the Digil and Mirifle clans in Baydhabo in late March, with Shatigadud inaugurated as president of the new regional administration for an initial four-year term on 31 March.
Meanwhile, IRIN's businessman source in Baydhabo said on Thursday that the city seemed calm, with "no apparent tension".
"We are working and carrying on with our activities as usual, hoping and praying that the committee will succeed in its efforts," he added.
Source: UN Integrated Regional Information Network, Nairobi, in English 27 Jun 02 /) BBC Monitoring
BBC Monitoring International Reports, June 27, 2002
SOMALIA: LEAFLETS SCATTERED IN SOUTHERN TOWN OF MARKA WARN AID AGENCIES
Leaflets warning aid agencies operating in the Lower Shabeelle Region have been scattered in Marka town south of Mogadishu . The interim government's security commander in Marka, Lt-Col Burhan Ali Sherdi, said the leaflets were scattered by people who want to sabotage peace in the region. He further said any threat against aid agencies in the region would not be tolerated.
There were no reactions from the aid agencies operating in Marka regarding the leaflets.
Source: Holy Koran Radio, Mogadishu, in Somali 1700 gmt 26 Jun 02 /) BBC Monitoring
BBC Monitoring International Reports, June 27, 2002
SOMALIA: SOUTHERN FACTION DEPLOYS FORCES TO BAR OFFICIALS FROM ATTENDING FUNERAL
Militiamen loyal to the first deputy chairman of the RRA anti-government Rahanwein Resistance Army , Shaykh Adan Madobe, and armed with several technicals battle wagons have been deployed at Buur Hakaba.
The militiamen have been deployed to prevent some politicians presumably loyal to the interim government from attending the burial of the late Abdiqadir Zoppe prominent southern politician belonging to the Rahanwein clan who died in Rome recently which is expected to take place at a village eight km outside Baydhabo Baidoa, southcentral Somalia . "We will not allow politicians opposed to the RRA administration to attend the burial ceremony of the late Abdiqadir Zoppe," RRA Deputy Chairman Shaykh Adan Madobe said.
Reports say that the Baydhabo-Mogadishu road may be closed completely. The road was recently reopened after officials at the Mogadishu-Baydhabo border point resolved to allow public transport vehicles to operate between Mogadishu and Baydhabo.
Source: Ayaamaha web site, Mogadishu, in Somali 27 Jun 02 /) BBC Monitoring
BBC Monitoring International Reports, June 27, 2002
SOMALI PRESIDENT THANKS DJIBOUTI COUNTERPART FOR HIS "FIRM SUPPORT"
The president of the Transitional Government of the Republic of Somalia, Abdiqasim Salad Hasan, has sent a message of congratulations to the Djibouti president, Ismael Omar Gelleh, on the country's 25th independence anniversary celebrations. "Your excellency, receive our sincere and warm congratulations on this auspicious occasion. We wish you and the entire population of Djibouti a prosperous and happy future," President Abdiqasim said in his message.
"We thank you for the firm support you gave the Somali people, and the way you stood and saved them. The Somali people will never forget the way you and your people stood to restore their sovereignty," the president said.
Source: Ayaamaha web site, Mogadishu, in Somali 27 Jun 02 / BBC Monitoring
BBC Monitoring International Reports, June 27, 2002
SOMALILAND: BRITISH ENVOY HOLDS TALKS WITH PRESIDENT, HAILS DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
The president of the republic of Somaliland, Dahir Riyale Kahin, this morning held talks with the British ambassador to Ethiopia, Mr Myles Wickstead, who was accompanied by the Home office secretary in charge of immigration and political affairs name indistinct, title as heard .
The ambassador whose visit is the first to the country, informed the president that he was on a fact-finding mission to Somaliland and will convey his findings to the British government after his return to London next month.
He said his other function was related to Somaliland refugees who had not been given refugees status in the UK and to see what could be done for Somali experts willing to return to Somaliland. Mr Riyale asked the ambassador to inform his government the fact that Somaliland was not ready to return to its union with Somalia. He said that was a choice made by the people of Somaliland who were not even ready to entertain the idea. He said the government was implementing the choice of its people. He said it is the people who had decided to reclaim their independence in 1991 and this fact was confirmed by the referendum which voted in favour of independence by 97 per cent.
He said Somaliland had fulfilled all requirements of statehood and that the ambassador should convey to his country Somaliland's need to get help from the UK to attain recognition. He said even prior to that the two countries should establish cooperation and formal links under the Commonwealth, and that the UK should help Somaliland in the elections, help lift the ban on Somaliland livestock, in industry, education, health and in other areas of development.
The president said unless the country got assistance from the international community the issue of returning refugees would be impossible, impractical and unfitting. He said the international community had not formally provided what was needed to address the issue, hence nothing has been prepared for them.
The ambassador thanked the president for the manner in which he was received in the country and said he was impressed by the security, stability, and the order in Somaliland, considering that the rest of Somalia was in chaos. He said the impressive democratic process in Somaliland had been an eye opener to the rest of the world and the success had never being attained in many countries.
He said "we are convinced that it is impractical for things to return to the 1991 state, we are firm about the security and stability of Somaliland and no-one should interfere with that. We promise you all that we will convey all the messages we received from you to our government. We assure you that your grievances will be heard."
The meeting was attended by the vice-president and the minister of foreign affairs.
Source: Radio Hargeysa in Somali 1700 gmt 27 Jun 02/ BBC Monitoring
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